fireflyfandomcom-20200222-history
Kaywinnet Lee Frye
Kaywinnit Lee "Kaylee" Frye was Serenity mechanic. She had exceptional mechanical aptitude, despite her lack of formal training. Kaylee was considered by the crew to be exceptionally sweet and chipper, the type who maintained a bright attitude even when others were feeling low. Biography Early life Kaylee had apparently always had an affinity with machines. On her home planet, she would often assist her father in repairing things. Crew member Kaylee joined the crew of Serenity when its captain, Malcolm Reynolds, interrupted her and Bester having sex in Serenity engine room. At the time, Bester was Serenity mechanic. However, when Bester incorrectly informed Mal that the ship could not be fixed, Kaylee quickly proved him wrong by diagnosing the problem and repairing the grounded Serenity. Impressed with her mechanical ability, Mal immediately offered her Bester's job. Kaylee happily accepted, and left her family (and Bester) behind to join the crew. Kaylee was shot in the stomach by the Alliance agent Lawrence Dobson. Simon Tam used her injury as a bargaining chip to be allowed to remain on Serenity with his sister, River. While Simon tended to Kaylee after she was shot by Dobson, Jayne Cobb was huddled on the catwalk outside of the infirmary watching the surgery. Earlier, Jayne had been banished from the dinner table for making lewd comments about her obvious attraction to Simon, thus humiliating her in front of Simon while leaving Simon himself very embarrassed. And yet, his obvious concern emphasized her importance to him and implied how deeply the other members of the crew care about her—although Jayne would still embarrass her later by making fun of her attraction to Simon, usually right in front of Simon. Kaylee had shown an affinity for strawberries. As part of payment for being allowed passage on Serenity, Shepherd Book offered her a small box of strawberries, which she eagerly accepted. Later, when she accompanied Malcolm Reynolds to a ball, she immediately homed in on the bowl of strawberries on the buffet table. Despite her mechanical aptitude which allowed Kaylee to fix just about anything, she had a desire for girlish things and was annoyed when Mal did not see that she was a woman as well as a mechanic.Austin American-Statesman - DVD reviews: 'Serenity'Although most notable in the episode "Shindig"—when he criticized her desire to purchase an elaborate dress on the grounds that she would have no opportunity to wear it in her job—this recurs throughout the series. On the rare occasion that her ability as a mechanic failed her, she tended to lose her sunny disposition, as happened when Serenity engine failed after an explosion, leaving Kaylee saddened that her ship had become so damaged and she hadn't noticed the 'warnings.' Kaylee tended to personify Serenity, talking about her as if the ship were a sentient creature, and Kaylee took insults to the ship personally when someone referred to it as "junk.". River revealed that the attraction between Simon and Kaylee was not a simple crush of infatuation, but that the two were in fact, in love.''Serenity'' novelization Simon Tam later confessed his feelings for her, which she reciprocated. The two finally consummated their relationship; Kaylee and shirtless Simon kissed each other passionately before sinking to the engine room floor, with River peeking in wide-eyed from an overhead hatch.Serenity Relationships "I spent so much time on Serenity ignoring anything.. that I wanted for myself. My one regret in all of this is never being with you." "With me? You mean to say... sex?" "I mean to say." "Hell with this, I'm gonna live!"'' ―Simon and Kaylee finally express their feelings to one another '''Simon': Kaylee developed a romantic attraction to Simon Tam which remained unconsummated for a long time, even though it was clear that Simon's feelings were mutual. It was often his 'proper' attitude that prevented the two of them from ever engaging in a more meaningful relationship , or his dedication to protecting his sister. The problem was compounded by the fact that he sometimes made comments that hurt Kaylee's feelings, insulting the lifestyle of the crew, Serenity, and even herself, though he never intentionally meant to insult her; a prominent example of his ineptitude at making conversation was when he described her as 'the only girl in the world,' on the grounds that all the other women he knew were either married (Zoë), too professional (Inara) or related to him (River). Simon himself almost never got mad at Kaylee, the only time being when Kaylee revealed River's disturbing expert use of a handgun, which placed a dark cloud over River in the eyes of the others, which in turn angered Simon, although he was able to control it. Eventually, Simon and Kaylee confessed their feelings for each other and consummated their relationship. {C} Malcolm: The overall relationship between Malcolm Reynolds and Kaylee closely resembled that of a brother and sister, as stated by Mal when he referred to Kaylee as "Xiao Mei Mei", meaning "Little Younger Sister" in Mandarin, and when he vocally protested hearing about it when she commented that she hadn't had sex for a year. Inara: Kaylee enjoyed spending time with Inara, as one who indulged Kaylee in doing "girly" things, from shopping to combing her hair, like a best friend or a surrogate older sister to a younger sister. Inara also offerred Kaylee advice on her love life, specifically how to deal with Simon or how to get Simon to notice her. River: River Tam and Kaylee enjoyed playing together and related somewhat similar to teenage friends talking about boyfriends and past experiences. This is seen when River jokingly stole Kaylee's apple resulting in a chase through Serenity and Kaylee claiming back the apple then stating "no power in the 'Verse can stop me." Later, River repeated the statement after killing three men with a handgun (not missing a single shot with her eyes closed), and saving Kaylee. Kaylee was understandably somewhat distressed by the incident, and avoided River for some time, though she later decided to put it aside. Bester: Kaylee had a brief fling with the ex-Serenity Mechanic, shortly before taking his job. Behind the scenes Kaylee is portrayed by actor Jewel Staite in the television series Firefly and in the motion picture Serenity. Actress Jewel Staite explains Kaylee's character as being wholesome, sweet, and "completely genuine in that sweetness", adding "She loves being on that ship. She loves all of those people. And she's the only one who loves all of them incredibly genuinely."Interview with Jewel Staite Staite told Interview magazine, "She's kind of a floozy who wears her heart on her sleeve."From "Jewel Staite: Meet the Sci-Fi Set's New Barbarellla": "In the film Staite reprises her role as the titular ship's sexy mechanic Kaylee Frye. "She's kind of a floozy who wears her heart on her sleeve," says the actress." Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *''Downtime'' *''Better Days'' *''Those Left Behind'' *''Serenity: The Other Half'' *''Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale'' *''Serenity'' movie *''Serenity'' novel Sources *''Serenity Role Playing Game'' Notes and references Category:Females Category:Mechanics Category:Serenity crewmembers